


London Drowning

by aderyn



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: 221B Ficlet, Bad Weather, Caretaking, Crime, Rain, Rescue, Rivers, Rivers of London - Freeform, True Love, Weather metaphors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-20
Updated: 2013-08-20
Packaged: 2017-12-24 02:40:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/934282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aderyn/pseuds/aderyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They live by the river.</p>
            </blockquote>





	London Drowning

 

London is underwater. The rivers have come up another foot, the Thames and the Lea and the Ravensbourne and the subterranean Fleet, aflood. They move through it in boots, anoraked hoods, no umbrellas. Sherlock slicks back his hair with his fingers, sneezes. John shakes like a wet dog, shoves his gun safely dry, tries to get something hot on.

“You’ll catch your death.”

“Take that off.”

“Sherlock.”

*****

You’re drowning and there’s no-one to pull you out. That’s what it was like.

You’re drowning and no respite except at night when you freeze. That’s what it was like.

_Give me your sorrows, the ones I’ve seen between your brows._

_Give them here._

Is what they could say.

Over English Breakfast while it pours.

It pours.

*****

London’s drowning and brown; skips float past; rats jump for the country; fences clear out; killers throw up their hands and beg for a rescue. Sherlock pulls one into their boat, texts Lestrade, soaks the sofa with glee.

London remembers cholera, fills the outfalls, slips into its own sewers.

Windows at Baker show fish, show weeds, flash the rush of rivers into the hot bed in the wet flat.

A whisper on the flood.

_You’ll catch your death._

_You’ll catch your death._

They catch it alright; swim right on through. A kick and a pull, handfasted, breathing.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> For all the too-dry places  
> And goodbye to summer  
> And to Elmore, storyteller  
> And mentor to crime writers.


End file.
